Portuguese - Softcover

Barry Hatton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1904955770 ISBN 13: 9781904955771

Publisher: Non Basic Stock Line, 2010

Synopsis

Portugal is an established member of the European Union, one of the founders of the euro currency and a founder member of NATO. Yet it is an inconspicuous and largely overlooked country on the continent’s south-west rim.In the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Age of Discovery the Portuguese led Europe out of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic and they brought Asia and Europe together. Evidence of their one-time four-continent empire can still be felt, not least in the Portuguese language which is spoken by more than 220 million people from Brazil, across parts of Africa to Asia.Analyzing present-day society and culture, The Portuguese also considers the nation’s often tumultuous past. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake was one of Europe’s greatest natural disasters, strongly influencing continental thought and heralding Portugal’s extended decline. The Portuguese also weathered Europe’s longest dictatorship under twentieth-century ruler António Salazar. A 1974 military coup, called the Carnation Revolution, placed the Portuguese at the centre of Cold War attentions. Portugal’s quirky relationship with Spain, and with its oldest ally England, is also scrutinized.Portugal, which claims Europe’s oldest fixed borders, measures just 561 by 218 kilometres . Within that space, however, it offers a patchwork of widely differing and beautiful landscapes. With an easygoing and seductive lifestyle expressed most fully in their love of food, the Portuguese also have an anarchical streak evident in many facets of contemporary life. A veteran journalist and commentator on Portugal, the author paints an intimate portrait of a fascinating and at times contradictory country and its people.

About this title

About the Author:

Barry Hatton has been a foreign correspondent in Lisbon for more than twenty years. He has previously co-authored a biography, in Portuguese, of Portugal's first ever woman prime minister, Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo.

Review:

'Hatton clearly loves Portugal and has written an engaging, often delightful history.' --Publishers Weekly 'Barry Hatton has written a lively and rigorous account of how a nation that is so often overlooked has come through disaster, dictatorship, revolution and economic mismanagement... The Portuguese is a must-read for first-timers wanting to know more about the country, but it is also a constant delight for those already well-versed in a fascinating nation.' --Iberosphere

About this edition

• Publisher: Non Basic Stock Line
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1904955770
• ISBN 13: 9781904955771
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256